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Talk:The Match Girl's Lost Paradise/@comment-29376355-20181102205439
Ok, I finally had a chance to play the game, and I must say that I found it to be absolutely fantastic. The music was perfect for the mood of the game, the graphics were beautiful, and the mini games were mostly entertaining. Further, the game's use of Prince Julian as a villain was perfect, as it helped to explain why the Match Girl was so unreasonably hostile to us throughout the game. Further, his plan to destroy the world and create a new one out of illusions was in keeping with his powers and previous storyline. Also, when the Detective was attacked by the illusions in the Garden, she was attacked by King Eurig (who was Prince Julian's adoptive father) and Prince James (whom Prince James briefly impersonated when we first met him in "DP 6-Jack and the Sky Kingdom.") I immediately suspected Prince Julian after that, as I wondered why other previous dead villains were not shown (such as Eldra the Wolf Queen, Amelia, Geppetto, Queen Valia, Princess Elise, etc.) For someone who complains about the Detective's "meddling," the Match Girl seems to have only a limited understanding of the Detective's previous cases, which just happen to be the two that Prince Julian was so knowledgeable about. Rest in Peace, Prince Julian. You were the least likeable of the three princes of the sky kingdom. But because you are dead and we are supposed to say something nice...well, you had decent acting skills. Although most people think that this game was not as good as "The Return of the Salt Princess," I think there is one important aspect that this game captured that "Return of the Salt Princess" was clearly lacking, and that was the connection to previous games. For me, two of the most important elements for a successful "Dark Parables" game is (1) the ability to take random fairytales and establish connections between them and (2) the continuation of previous characters' stories. If there was one thing that "Return of the Salt Princess" was lacking, it was the lack of reference to previous stories. Yes, I know that there are references to the Frog Prince, and that the Royal Advisor may have been the one who cursed Prince James in the first place, but we never got to actually meet the Royal Advisor. Further, the lack of previous characters in the course of the game was a small let-down for me. In this respect, "The Match Girl's Lost Paradise" was far more successful than "Return of the Salt Princess," in that a mystery that we have pondered for a long time (namely, the fate of the three princes and the ultimate fate of Prince Julian) was finally addressed. Further, there was a semi-redemption story in the tale of the Wood Witch, who was basically the weaker but kinder side of Amelia, the Godmother. In many ways, her tale echoes the tale of "Requiem of the Forgotten Shadow," but in reverse. In this tale, instead of focusing on the stronger and more violent darker side, we see the physically weaker yet kinder "good side" of a character decide to do something with her existence in a way that provides a great contrast to her darker side, which is an example that this world is in dire need of right now. Although I am still disappointed that we still haven't revisited some of our other characters (namely, Katherine, Pinnochio, Kai, and Belladonna) and revisit their stories, this was still very enjoyable for me. Final thought-I am so glad that my faith was rewarded! I predicted that, given enough time, Blue Tea Games and Eipix would find the right balance and come up with a wonderful game, and they proved to us that they could, which bodes well for the future of the Dark Parables Series. There are still some minor issues (Prince Julian refers to the Detective in his diary as a "he" when Dark Parables clearly shows that the Detective is a "she," which means that Prince Julian is very, very confused or someone screwed up). However, I will give credit where credit is due, and I hope that Eipix and Blue Tea Games will continue to work together (and take their time doing so, even if it means it may take forever for the next game to come out).